St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-09-15
FAIRBANKS SCALE co.
Annual Meeting.-RePOrt of Auditors
Old Directors Elected.

| Via DkfecGoTs EicCtcus
The annual meeting of the Fairbanks
scale company was held at the Office in
this place yesterday, Sept. IA. This
meeting attracted more than usual in
terest because of the stir made by the
Boston stockholders over the report of
an auditing board made public at an
informal meeting held in Boston few
weeks ago. At that meeting a COM
mittee of ten was elected to be pres
ent at the annual meeting and repre-
sent the stockholders opposed to the
present management. The meeting
was called at half-past nine in the
morning and it continued all day and
into the evening. Below we give a
brief summary of the proceedings:
Meeting was called to order by the
president, Horace Fairbanks, and af-
ter the minutes of the last annual
meeting were read by the secretary,
VIM. P. Fairbanks, the president made
report of the directors to the stock
holders. There was January last a
surplus of 100000 and floating debts
of $500, 900, lin round numbers). UP
to August first this debt had been re-
duced to $l50,OO0. After several years
of depression, business had greatly
revived and the outlook for the future
was very hopeful. During the years of
depression, owing to sharp cOmpeti-
ton and determination to keep their
standard high, no profit had been real
lied, but for the coming year they ex-
pected to show a profit of at least
eight per cent. With increased shop
room and facilities the company were
wholly unable to keep up with their
orders and were now several thousand
scales behind, although they were
working the shops to their fullest ca
pacity with over 600 men. The direc
tors recommend large increase in
facilities. The directors report was
accepted without debate.
The treasurer's report showed lin
round numbers) the receipts for 1886,
So, 243,OOO discounts 81 1854 900; net
sales $I,279, 900. The expense of
manufacture was $4,000; selling ex-
pense $594,OOO. The total expenses
were $l,137 900; net earnings $I1O,-
600. Lawyer Bush of New York, in
behalf of the management, made some
explanations under running fire from
some of the stockholders, after which
the report was accepted.
Col. Franklin Fairbanks made brief
verbal report from the manufacturing
department. The force now employed
in the shops was some 625 men were
melting % tons of iron daily and fin
ishing 1900 scales a week and were yet
about 5000 orders behind. The scale
orders for ~ averaged about 33 per
cent. higher in the large sizes, such as
railroad and hay scales, than in '86.
After some remarks by G. HI. Morse OF
Chicago on the methods of doing bust
ness, credits, ETC., and some vigorous
talk by B. E. Cole of Boston on bust
ness methods, the meeting listened to
the auditors report.
1t seems that at the last annual
meeting board of four auditors was
elected, with power to employ experts,
for the purpose of examining the con-
dition of the business from the time oil
the incorporation in 1876 to 1887. This
report took up the matter by years
showing the standing each year, with
expenses, dividends paid and profit
made or loss sustained. The net prof
of the eleven years was found to be
over one million of dollars. The au-
ditors report was accepted and ordered
to be placed on the records.
In the afternoon lawyer HI. C. Idle in
behalf of the management made an ex-
planatOry statement in which he said
the managers had put a large amount
of money into a railroad which they
virtually owned and held in order to
protect this corporation from extOr-
tionate freight charges. That they
held on to this railroad property after
having an advantageous offer for il
until they could get such freight con-
tracts as would enable them to cOntin-
ue to manufacture scales and not have
all the profit swallowed up in freight
charges. In this way they saved t.
the stockholders of the scale company
not less than $4,000 year in freight
alone. He thought this fact should ST.
lence all talk about the high salaries
of the officers.
The Boston stockholders asked thai
when it came to considering a new
board of directors the name of S. N
Brown he dropped and James G.. Gar
diner of New York substituted, on the
ground that there was a manifest i'm
propriety in having a selling agent q
director in a corporation of whom he
was buying goods. To this it was re-
piled that the contract by which tn {
selling houses were to have scales was
already made and had yet ten years tt
run. The request of the Boston stock
holders was however taken under ad
visement, but after a long consultation
the following board of directors wa,
elected Horace Fairbanks, Franklin
Fairbanks, Henry Fairbanks, st. Johns
, bury Sam'l n. Brown, Charles E
Thayer, r. H. Stearns, Boston; Jane,